Browse plants of Kenya with special reference to those occurring in South Baringo

Abstract

"It is a humbling fact for grass pasture experts to realize that probably more animals feed on shrubs and trees, or on associations in which shrubs and trees play an Important part, than on true grass or grass-legume pastures, short and tall grass ranges and steppes." This introductory sentence to "The Use and Misuse of Shrubs and Trees as Fodder" (1947) is almost certainly applicable to most semi-arid and arid parts of Kenya inhabited by pastoral trites and their livestock; it is particularly relevant to the South Baringo District, where most of the material described in this paper was collected. The southern part of the Baringo District is believed to be potential perennial grass-woodland country, but at the present time the grass cover is almost completely destroyed and the ground is exposed to such an extent that even during rainy seasons the leaves, bark and pods of trees and shrubs, together with the available herbs, provide the bulk of the diet of the ruminant and of other livestock.